#0151 · 🦊 mammals

Sei Whale

🇳🇱 Noordse Vinvis ·Balaenoptera borealis

ENendangered 🦊 Mammals 📍 in Europe, not in NL

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Mette Hesselholt Henne Hansen · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © Christin Khan · CC BY-SA 4.0
3. © Sara Simma · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Joao Tata Regala · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. © Sara Simma · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. © whale_nerd · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. © jackmckee50 · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. © Ryan Van Meter · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
9. Denmark:© Mette Hesselholt Henne Hansen · CC BY-NC 4.0
10. Portugal:© Sidonio Paes · CC BY 4.0

what is it?

The sei whale (/ˈseɪ/ or /ˈsaɪ/) ( Balaenoptera borealis ) is a baleen whale, the third-largest rorqual after the blue whale and the fin whale. It inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas, and prefers deep offshore waters. It avoids polar and tropical waters and semienclosed bodies of water. The sei whale migrates annually from cool and subpolar waters in summer to winter in temperate and subtropical waters, with a lifespan of 70 years.

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 1,002iNaturalist observations
threat ENendangered

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
1,002 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by René Lesson in 1828 (198 years ago).
Listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.